The Hollywood Musical (Level 3)
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| MUSI3073 | Music | 3 | 20 | Spring UK |
- Code
- MUSI3073
- School
- Music
- Level
- 3
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Spring UK
Summary
This module surveys the development of the Hollywood musical from the invention of “talkies” to the present day. Through a series of case study films ranging from The Jazz Singer (1927) to The Greatest Showman (2017), it considers the specific issues associated with staging a musical in screen. Topics will include theatricality and “backstage narratives”, star casting, dance on screen, and the role of animation in developing the form.
Target Students
Available to all Year 3 students including Liberal Arts, exchange and subsidiary students. Students are unable to enrol on this module if they have previously taken MUSI2048 The Hollywood Musical Level 2.
Classes
- One 1-hour seminar each week for 11 weeks
- One 3-hour screening each week for 11 weeks
- One 2-hour lecture each week for 11 weeks
Assessment
- 75% Coursework 1: Written essay of 3,600-4,000 words
- 25% Coursework 2: Book review of 1200-1500 words (interim assessment)
Assessed by end of autumn semester
Educational Aims
In undertaking this module, students will:1. Gain an understanding of the evolution of the Hollywood musical across the last century;2. Explore musicological approaches to the Hollywood musical, including song studies, archival practice, and reception studies3. Understand interdisciplinary concerns that inform readings of these films4. Critically engage with issues associated with presenting musicals on screen5. Further develop a broad range of study skills, including critical analysis, research practice and engagement with a range of scholarly and theoretical texts.Learning Outcomes
In completing this module, students will:
1. possess a deeper understanding of the history of the Hollywood musical and particular issues associated with its production;
2. have a broad knowledge of a range of works and figures in the development of the Hollywood musical, as well as musicological debates around it;
3. develop a deeper understanding of the prominent themes within key works;
4. have developed a range of critical and analytical skills appropriate to the study of popular and historical musicology.
Conveners
- Dr Hannah Robbins